


TV Magic

by Linorien



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-07-12 16:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7114363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because how could Merlin resist working on a show called "Merlin"?</p><p>In which Merlin decided to become the head of practical effects and may or may not be totally cheating by using his magic. This chronicles his adventures in the land of TV magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting the Job

**Author's Note:**

> This would not be as good as I like to think it is without the amazing help of [Requiem17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requiem17/works). She has wonderful stories so go check her out.

[ ](https://imgur.com/HFs2QGi)

It was the early 2000s when the Universe decided to mess with Merlin again. Luckily, despite his long years of waiting for Arthur to return, Merlin had not lost his sense of humor. It has only grown. So when Merlin read that the BBC would be developing a TV show based on his life in Camelot, focused on him for once, he knew there was no way to pass up the opportunity to be involved.

He had tried his hand at acting a couple times and found that it was not for him. He was much better with improv. Besides, he was sure he would already have enough bones to pick with the writing of it.

Instead he perused the open jobs and found one to his liking. A practical effects supervisor. He’d be the best out there. No need to do the work when magic will do it for you.

 

A few forged documents and slight persuasion spells later, Merlin was down on the crew list as Matthew Elfham, Special Effects Supervisor. He met the rest of his team and appointed a second in command for when he was busy. The others seemed knowledgeable and ought to be fun to work with. They certainly shared his love for pyrotechnics.

Slowly the rest of the crew was filled in and the cast list was revealed. He was surprised to see that they had chosen an Irishman to play him, but even he had to admit Mr. Morgan looked eerily similar to him. Merlin wondered if they weren’t actually distantly related.

When he got his copy of the first couple scripts, he was pleasantly surprised. Were they entirely accurate? No. But it was the first interpretation in a while that seemed to have unearthed the fact that Merlin had been a couple years younger than Arthur. And so far it seemed to be focusing a lot on their friendship. Merlin even laughed aloud while reading. It was easy to forget that this was not written by one of Gwen’s children. He remembered how she had told them so many stories of Arthur’s adventures as a prince that they tried to write them all down before she passed away, lest the stories be lost completely. But Gwen had always put her own spin on the tales and refused to let Merlin argue for what really happened.

The first read-through passed and Merlin was starting to feel properly excited for this show. The cast seemed wonderful, his crew was working together well, and the food was great. Especially the part where he didn’t have to make it himself.

All in all, he couldn’t wait to start filming.


	2. Dream Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the two Merlin's have a chat.

It was the late 18th century when Merlin discovered dream walking. He found it fun to leave cryptic messages to people he wanted to help, or to instill fear in those who made an enemy out of him. But now he would be experimenting with a new purpose in mind.

Laying back on his bed, he closed his eyes and let his soul drift out. Through a little snooping he had found where Colin Morgan was staying and in no time at all he was there. Where exactly there was, he wasn’t sure. As he looked around in the dream landscape it seemed to be grassy hilltops and some distant mountains. But the dreamer himself was sitting cross legged near the edge of a cliff, hands tucked in the pocket of his grey hoodie, looking out over the lake. 

“Hello,” Merlin called, not wanting to startle the man into falling off the cliff. He’d wake up then. 

Colin turned around and peered at Merlin. “Who are you?”

“Mind if I sit?” Merlin ignored the question for now. Colin acquiesced and the warlock settled down next to him. “You are aware that you are dreaming, correct?”

Colin nodded. “I used to come here with my parents for weekend camping trips. That hasn’t happened in years though.”

“It’s peaceful.”

“I think that’s why my subconscious likes it here.” Colin turned to Merlin again. “You never said who you were. I don’t tend to have strangers show up in my dreams.”

“You may not believe me, but I’m Merlin.” Colin’s eyebrows rose.

“I didn’t think I was going to start having those sort of dreams yet. The project just started.”

“This is not one of those dreams. But I think you knew that. I really am the immortal Merlin. I wanted to talk with you.”

Colin’s eyes took in Merlin’s dark jeans and loose fitting shirt paired with a very worn pair of black boots. A red scarf was fashionably tied about his neck. “Let’s say I believe that you are who you say you are, why me?”

Merlin grinned. “Well you are portraying me in this new series.”

“Fair point.” He leaned back on his hands. “I guess it makes sense that you would know about that. So what did you want to talk about?”

“I’m curious to know if you might actually have a spark of magic in you.” 

Colin stared at the man next to him. “You’re serious? How can you tell? Wouldn’t I have noticed by now?”

“Not necessarily, it is probably very faint, but if you have some then this could be more fun.”

“How do you mean?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“Think of how much easier the visual effects team would have it if you could actually perform some of the spells you are supposed to be imitating. Obviously it wouldn’t work for all of them, as far as I know, no one but me can actually slow down time so that will still have to be done by computers, but basic fire spells, I can teach you those.”

“And no one would be suspicious?”

“Would you believe it if someone told you the actor playing Merlin actually does have magic?” he asked with one eyebrow raised. 

“No. I suppose not.” They sat in silence for a few moments, just staring out at the blue waters. “So how do you know if I have magic or not?”

“It’s in your aura.” Merlin seemed to peer right into Colin’s soul for a moment, deep in concentration before he blinked and smiled. “You do have a little. It’s hard to explain how I can feel it but I do.”

“Now what?”

“Nothing actually. I can teach you some things here in the dreams, but for now it will remain in your subconscious. You won’t remember this when you wake.”

“Why not?”

“Side effect of dream walking. Haven’t quite worked out everything about it yet. But we can practice pronunciation and you can ask me any questions you’d like. I may not answer all of them, but I can do my best.”

“So I will have the skills subconsciously, and then what? How will I do them on set?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Merlin’s eyes twinkled. “That will be taken care of for you.” Colin opened his mouth to ask another question but was cut off. “That’s enough for now. Do we have a deal?” He held out his hand. 

“Yeah. Should be interesting either way.” They shook hands and Merlin retreated back to his own mind. Interesting was certainly one way to put what he had planned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Colin and a few of the other actors will be in the story, I will focus on keeping the story mostly about Merlin. Both because this is his story, and because I am not entirely comfortable writing living people.


	3. Trial By Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first test of Colin using magic gets underway.

With a barely perceptible pop, Merlin appeared in the shadows of Pierrefonds. Thankfully no one was around to notice the obvious magic. Any tourists had long been sent home, and most locals would not be out and about at this hour. 

The only people awake were the film crew. It was nearly time for the night shoot. Merlin’s team had been here earlier in the day to set up what they needed to, and now in the lingering light of the setting sun, the rest of the needed crew was shooting the establishing shots they needed while the actors were able to take a nap. They had been shooting all day of course and would probably be up most of the night as well.

Merlin strode out of the shadows toward the trailer camp where Colin would be found. He thought he was doing good at going unnoticed until someone called out his name. He bit back a curse. 

“Matthew, hey, quick question for you.” It was one of the ADs. 

Merlin turned to him with a cheerful smile. “Yeah, what is it?”

“The director wants to go over with you how your team is doing the ring of fire and flying dagger in Remedy to Cure All Ills. Do you have a minute?”

“Actually, you would be best talking with Karen,” he replied. “She is in charge of that scene and can explain it better than I can.”

“Great, do you--”

“Courtyard,” Merlin interrupted. “I’ve got to run.” And with that he used his long legs to quickly put some distance between him and any further inquiries. A glance at his watch tells him he does not have long until someone is sent to make sure Colin is awake to report to set. 

He uses his magic to unlock the door to the actor’s trailer and creeps inside. It’s surprisingly neat. A few pictures from home and of friends decorate the otherwise blank walls inside. He recognises the backdrop of one family photo as Colin’s dreamscape. It reminds Merlin of the couple times he attended college and had to live in a dorm room. 

Merlin was able to use his naturally amplified night vision to find his way to Colin’s fold out bed where the man was passed out. It was eerie how similar the actor looked to him when he was that age. Not that anyone but him would know. Taking a steadying breath, Merlin hovered his palm above Colin’s eyes and recited the spell. He designed it to hide the telltale gold of magic in his eyes when he needed to perform magic unheeded. A slight modification should allow the cameras to still pick up what no human eye could. 

The warlock had just completed the spell when a loud sound of drums and guitar erupted. He lept backwards just in time for the actor to roll over and slap his phone to turn off the alarm. In a panic, Merlin fell to the floor and rolled underneath the bed. As he listened to the sound of the Irishman rousing himself to go to set, Merlin mused to himself that maybe the screenwriters knew more about him than he had thought. He did always seem to find himself in situations like this. 

  
  


Finally Colin left and Merlin rushed to beat him to set. Now he sat on top of the low wall and watched the rehearsals. He had laid the pipes designed to create a fire effect that he would actually do with magic. This would be the first test of channeling his magic through Colin. He had practiced in dreams, but not in real life yet. At least it was the second unit so if something went wrong, less people would be aware. 

Finally the time had come to film the small scene. The cameras were rolling and Merlin reached out his magic to connect with Colin’s.

The director called for action and the Irishman walked out from behind the pillar. He raised his arm and cast the spell. Merlin felt the tug on his magic and watched as the actor perfectly channeled the magic to perform the spell. Merlin couldn’t see his eyes change, but he knew it had worked. The line of fire raced to circle the other man and flared higher. 

Counting in his head from when the man turned to look at Colin, Merlin then silently cast the counterspell to extinguish the flames. 

As the director yelled cut, Merlin couldn’t help the small smile on his face. It had gone perfectly. 

“Reset!” Or maybe not as perfectly as he had thought.


	4. Draconic Images

That night, Merlin entered Colin’s dream once again. He found the young man sitting on the hill waiting for him. As soon as their eyes met, Colin stood up and hurried to meet him.

“Did it work?” he asked eagerly. “I saw the flames of course, but I know that a normal effects team could have done that as well. And the piping was laid down.”

Merlin chuckled. “Too true, but it really was magic. You did it!”

“We did it together,” Colin corrected and smiled widely as they high-fived. 

“So let’s continue on with your lessons.”

“Actually, I had a question for you first.” Merlin motioned for him to continue. “I know the CGI crew will be creating a dragon in post, and I have seen some of the rough sketches, but I was wondering if you had actually ever met any dragons. And if perhaps you could show me what they look like. It would be easier to have something to imagine in front of the giant green screen.”

“Of course. I can’t physically bring them into the dream, but I can call up a life-size form from my memory. Give me a minute.”

“One whole minute, must be a difficult spell,” Colin teased. Merlin ignored him.

Holding out his hands in front of him and closing his eyes in concentration, the warlock crafted a hologram-like image of one of the dragons he had known. Then with a little extra push of magic, he made it seem like it was real and solid despite being solely made of light. He lowered his arms and glanced sideways to see the actor’s look of awe. 

“It’s huge. I mean I assumed as much but....”

“Seeing it standing in front of you for the first time is always daunting, no matter how much you think you are prepared.” There was another long silence as Colin walked around to look at the magic rendering from all angles. “This is an image of one of the younger dragons, Kyriath. I hatched her around three hundred years ago in the Caribbean. There’s still some islands down there that the rest of civilization have not gotten around to finding yet. I’d prefer to keep it that way.” 

“She’s beautiful.”

“I’ll pass along the compliment.”

“Moving on.” Merlin waved his hand and the dragon vanished. “We’ve seen that you have good control of fire. Shall we proceed to wind?”


	5. Hot Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin gathers his team and plans out how on earth they are going to bring the magic to life.

“How are we going to make this work?”

“I have this special type of paper that I’d like to try actually.” Merlin was perched on the back of his chair at their weekly effects meeting. They reviewed what scenes would be shot in the upcoming week and everyone brought their ideas on how to accomplish the impossible magic the writers had planned. The tough one this week was the spell that would allow Merlin to copy a family crest out of a book, onto a blank page for Lancelot. The director wanted to show the image appearing if possible.

“Something transparent?” one of his staff asked.

“Not quite,” he replied. “More science-y.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a blank sheet of A4. “It works with heat. Do one of you have a lighter? Thanks.” Merlin slowly moved the paper over the flame, tilting it so that his coworkers could see the image appear on the page. “The heat causes a chemical reaction in the page, a higher heat increases the reaction speed.”

“Like using lemon juice as an invisible ink and putting it in the oven,” Ashley exclaimed. “I used to do that all the time with my siblings when we were young.”

“Similar principle, yes.” Merlin handed the lighter back to Tim. “If we can modify the book to make one side of it very hot without hurting our actors, just pressing the paper onto the book should cause the image to appear.”

Or, more accurately, magic will make the image appear. The science was not quite there yet. Maybe in another five years.

Although there was plenty of other effects that the technology was advanced enough to handle.

“CGI said they can handle the glow of the lance solely in post,” Tim reported. “They don’t need us to do anything in shot.”

“Excellent. I’m glad that has been taken care of. What about the glowing Rowan staff to summon the dead? Anyone have a spare one of those lying around?” Merlin joked.

“Let me text my brother,” Ashley jested as she made to pull out her phone. “Actually, the writer’s are leaving the design of the staff up to us so I was thinking we could just make one with a LED light to illuminate a small marble or bubble of glass and then have some branches enclosing that. We could always put a switch in the staff to control the light.”

“Does it just need to light up as Katie plants it in the stone?” Tim asked.

“Yeah,” Karen replied as she pulled up the correct page in the script on her computer. “It just has Morgana reciting an incantation and then the staff glows when she thrusts it into the ground.”

“Do we know where that is being shot? Can we modify the floor?”

“That is marked as studio on here, so probably.”

“I would just need to put in any requests soon before the set is built,” Merlin added. “What are you thinking?”

“Completing a circuit. If the bottom of the staff is metal and the floor where Katie plants it is metal, it would only illuminate with direct contact,” Tim explained. “No need for any special controls on our part.” The rest of the small team thought about that for a moment before agreeing on that plan. Merlin added a note to his to do list and double checked the list of what they needed to talk about at this meeting. Having concluded that everything was addressed, he called the meeting to a close and sent them out with their assigned tasks.

Merlin smiled. Just another Monday on the crew of a show about his childhood.


	6. On Prince Arthur's Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin has a fun day on set.

The next couple weeks were fun in a way Merlin had not expected when he conned his way into this job. He had some experience with practical effects from decades ago working on a stage, but there it was just him and he relied on his magic a lot. But with a production this big, some things did still need to be done without. 

He was currently learning the joys of fishing poles. 

Way better than actually fishing, he was getting to dangle keys in the air behind Bradley's head. He was having a hard time not laughing during the takes as he stood on the bed and watched the scene play out. He had played similar pranks on Arthur back in the day. The director yelled cut after a successful take and the crew was finally able to laugh. Bradley grinned and gave a mock bow to a smattering of applause. Merlin hopped down to sit on the bed, which was far comfier than any bed in the Middle Ages.

On the break, he stopped by the CGI department to watch the raw footage of Mordred’s shoes tiptoeing across the room. It was the smallest girl on set who was wearing all green and creeping around. He had seen them do it before in the scenes of Merlin cleaning Arthur’s armour with magic, but this was funnier. It was a good lunchtime laugh.

But it was after lunch that his people had the biggest laugh of the day. Knowing that Bradley was not a huge fan of spiders, Merlin’s team had bought a load of fake spiders, some more realistic and fuzzy than others, and strung them in the canopy of Prince Arthur’s bed. Bradley had yet another one of his scenes laying with his face in his pillow while Colin puttered around the room talking while he straightened the room. 

They ought to have been suspicious anyway since there were no practical effects in this scene, and thus no reason for Merlin’s team to be there. But then again, it wasn’t uncommon for people to watch the filming on breaks from doing their own work. So when the director subtly let Merlin know that the next take was the one he would be okay with them ruining, Merlin readied his magic.

“Rise and Shine!” Colin called out. He yanked open the curtains and ripped the blankets off of Bradley’s bare back. He grumbled into his pillow. Colin turned back to the desk and in that moment, Merlin released the contraption holding the spiders All at once they fell down onto the actor, a few extra furry ones right on the small of his back.

Bradley could deny it all he wanted, but they were filming as he let out a high pitched scream and flipped over, then jumped out of the bed, trying furiously to swat all the spiders away. Colin’s head whipped around, first looking at Merlin, then at the multitude of spiders covering the bed. He joined the rest of the crew as they burst into raucous laughter. Bradley was bent over, his hands on his knees, but as he glanced up to see Colin, he also could not stop the smile from breaking out across his own face. He straightened up and found Merlin’s face in the crowd, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. 

“Alright, I’ll admit,” Bradley said, “that was a good one. You well and truly got me.”

“You practically flew out of that bed,” Merlin replied.

“My ears are still ringing from that scream; I can’t hear you,” Ashley laughed as she high-fived Tim.

“Maybe Merlin should throw some spiders at Arthur in an upcoming episode to wake him up,” a voice near the back suggested. Bradley’s scowl at that comment only spurned another round of laughter before they declared the scene through and cleared the set for the next one.


	7. Rise Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana's first shot at magic. Series two has begun.

Coming into series two, Merlin got the feeling that his team may have impressed the rest of the crew too much. The writers now had the impression that anything was possible. They weren't wrong, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be hard to accomplish the effects while still not using overt magic. He still had to at least come up with a contraption that could plausibly create the effect he would do with magic. 

Merlin was sitting now in his trailer trying to figure out how to do the uncontrolled magic when Morgana wakes up from a nightmare. Honestly it was looking like he would just use his magic and make up some really flimsy excuse while he told the others to work on a different scene. 

With a sigh, he tossed his pen on the table and, after checking his watch, left his room to go to his meetings for the day.

* * *

 

Merlin stood next to the camera as they shot the dreaded scene. Everything was dark on set except for indicator lights on the cameras and a stand-in for the moon. There were only ten people on set; the main unit was busy filming a long series of scenes in Gaius's chambers. 

Merlin closed his fist around the false remote he was playing off as his control for this scene. There was no fake candle, but the window was still sugar glass so that it wouldn't violate the annoying health and safety regulations. Disappointingly, it was not actually made of sugar. 

"Alright, ready everyone?" The second unit director called out. The woman responsible for arranging Katie's hair on the pillow nodded and stepped off the set. "Lightning effect, go. Camera one, on. Camera two, on. And action."

Camera one watched as Katie tossed in the bed. Merlin reached out with his magic to light the candle in frame, next to the bed. Angel walked into the room and said her lines, blowing out the candle and moving it across the room as she left. Camera two moved in to focus on Katie’s eyes as they started to flutter. Merlin relit the candle. 

“And, crash,” the director cued and Katie sat up with a flash, looking appropriately startled by what was, or what will be after sound effects are added, a loud crash of thunder. As she looked at the candle, Merlin pushed a little more magic into the flame for it to reach higher and higher. The camera panned upward to watch it light the curtain aflame and then Katie screamed. Without releasing his control on the fire, Merlin mentally shoved the window and the sugar glass exploded outwards. 

“Cut!” The director called and Merlin immediately smothered most of the fire with his magic so that the crew would not have much to put out on their own. He breathed a sigh of relief when the director reviewed the footage of the key scenes and determined they would not need to shoot it again with effects. Maybe a pick-up shot or two, but nothing that would require Merlin or his magic. 


	8. Enchanted Embroidery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Colin and Merlin meet in the real world and get along instantly.

Colin grinned at his fellow actor, pretending to watch an ugly wildorren descend upon the warlord who had captured Gwen. Together they turned and ran back down the tunnel they were filming in. It was a very small tunnel, being built as an extension onto the set of the warlord’s great hall. The rest of the tunnels were in France. The director yelled cut as they ran back out onto the soundstage floor. Colin wandered over to the special effects team. 

“It’s Matthew, right?” he asked the man standing by the gate, wheeling it back up. The man answered without looking.

“Yeah, let me secure this.” He finished the last few turns and secured the gate in place with a latch and a bit of magic. He then turned to the actor. “Hey, Colin. What’s up?”

“I was wondering how you are always able to get the timing so perfect." He motioned to the wheel. "And obviously you are not standing next to it to release the latch when I say my line, so how is it done?"

"How much time do you have? I don't want to keep you if you have somewhere to be soon."

"I've got a couple hours."

"Let me guess, this looked more interesting than sitting in your trailer?" Colin's smile gave him the answer he needed. "Alright, I can show you this and if you're still interested, I'll show you some of the ones I'm working on for later in the series."

***

Two hours later, it was Merlin who had to remind Colin he needed to go get ready to shoot his next scene. They had discussed how a quick release system worked before moving on to how many of the fire effects are done and how his team would be slamming the door shut in the upcoming episode with the troll. It was a joy to be able to share the fun solutions his team had engineered to do magic, but he felt a little bad when he had to lie about just using magic for some effects. But Colin seemed more interested in those. Perhaps a little bit of his subconscious longed to call Merlin out on his lies. 

However, out of this, a friendship grew. Colin continued to stop by to talk with Merlin and greet him with a smile whenever they were on set together. Both of their sunny dispositions blended well and there was never a frown in sight when they were together. 

Merlin enjoyed getting to know his fellow magic user a little bit more, although Colin then got his revenge by asking him more questions about his life when in the dream world. Sometimes Merlin forgot that Colin couldn't remember the dream conversations and things got a bit awkward. 

"You never told me you lived in Taiwan!"

"I'm sure I did. After you mentioned you took a vacation there and really loved looking at the pandas in the zoo."

Colin narrowed his eyes at him. "I never told you that."

"Yes you, oh, no I think I must be confusing you with another friend then."

"You remembered correctly though. I did enjoy the pandas."

Merlin grinned widely. "Funny coincidence."

Other times Colin roped him into helping Bradley prank the girls. Lots of extra fishing line got used up to fly masks and spiders across the room. Or to drop sheets on their heads. Or to, well, you get the idea. The crew learned to be wary when they were seen alone together. 

***

The best pranks were the ones that Merlin and Colin played on the knights. A thin layer of grease on everyone else’s saddles made it hard to sit still and at least one of the knights nearly fell off when galloping. Although the costume crew wasn’t terribly happy about the stains on the trousers they had to get rid of overnight. 

Another time, they added extra weights onto the chainmail. Not enough that it was immediately noticeable, but by the end of the day, the knights had considerably less energy than usual. 

However, Colin’s favourite was the one he still couldn’t figure out. Matthew promised he would share the secret one day, before the show was over. It was less of a prank, more of a mind game. Colin wasn’t even sure at first what it was. 

He woke up in the morning to find a folded letter slipped under his door with his name elegantly written on the front. Unfolding the paper, he read:  _ Just act like you didn’t see anything strange. -Matthew P.S. Destroy this after reading. _

The actor smiled as he looked around for a lighter; he didn’t know what he was in store for, but it promised to be an interesting day.

At first, no acting was required. He genuinely didn’t notice anything when Bradley had asked if he saw that. He had been reading over the scenes they were filming that week. Once, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw movement in the courtyard near the large Camelot banner, but he dismissed it as a gleam of sunlight reflecting off a swinging sword. 

The next day, Eoin was the one to approach him about it when they were relaxing in the training yard. “Colin, mate, have you noticed anything strange today? Like you think it might be a trick of your eyes, but you aren’t sure?”

“No, what have you seen?”

Eoin rubbed his necklace between his fingers. “Well, as I said, it might just be a trick of my eyes, but I thought I saw the dragon move.”

Colin narrowed his eyes. “What dragon?” If Matthew had suddenly made a real dragon appear, then he would have a hard time pretending he saw nothing strange.

“The dragon on the Camelot uniforms,” he replied. “It was on one of the extra’s costumes.” Colin turned and looked at the uniforms in question, his arms crossed over his chest. “I know, I’m probably imagining it. But thanks for not immediately thinking I’m crazy.”

“No problem, Eoin.” He rested his hand on his countryman’s shoulder. “Let me know if you see it again.”

It was two days before Colin saw the movement. He was zoning out while watching the extras rehearse their fights for one of the upcoming tournament scenes. He and Bradley had taken lunch out to the lawn since it was a nice summer day, far too nice to spend inside. One of the French extras was taking a water break when he saw it. The tail of the dragon on the back of his tunic suddenly stretched and flicked once before stilling once more. Colin turned quickly to look at Bradley, but his friend was absorbed in his sandwich. This time he knew without a doubt what the mysterious note referred to. 

The moving dragon sightings only became more common over the next two weeks. Colin didn’t always see them, but he was continually lying about knowing what the others were talking about. But at least they all had each other to pester. By now, all of the knights had at least seen it once, but no one on set believed them. It was clearly frustrating them. Colin was glad that at the very least Drama school had taught him to keep a straight face. More than once, he saw a dragon sticking out its tongue at the back of his fellow actor talking to him, trying to understand why Colin never saw the dragons move. 

It was Merlin who was having more difficulty containing giggles. He hid his laughter at their confusion by wearing an even bigger smile than usual and telling people he was just having a fantastic week. The weather was nice, a good friend of his recently got engaged, he won a trip to Hawaii during his next break, all sorts of stories to give a reason for his mirth. Because afterall, who would believe that he had enchanted the tunics? 

But he should not have been so sure. Although Colin wasn’t consciously aware, his subconscious noticed the magic and paid more attention. What he saw had him more confused than the other actors who still weren’t sure what they were seeing. Colin could see that there was a clear correlation between Matthew walking past and the movement of the dragons. Not every dragon, but every time the head of visual effects walked past, at least one of the dragons would fold in its wings and bow to the man. The person in question was oblivious. To both the bowing, and the suspicious looks from Colin.


	9. Finicky Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which improv saves the day.

Merlin watched as the crew came together on the stage to shoot the next scene. He wrung his hands anxiously, trying to restrain from fretting. There was no reason to believe that anything would go wrong with this short little scene. At least that’s what he was trying to convince himself of. They had already filmed most of the other scenes in the fake cave between Laura and Colin and 80% of them were done in one take. They had sweet on screen chemistry that worked well. 

There wasn’t anything complex in the scenes. A lot of sitting and talking and staring wonderingly at the other. So really nothing should go wrong.

The director called for action and Colin rushed around the corner, holding a napkin with food inside. 

“I know, I’m late again. Sorry. But, er, this is going to be the best bread you have ever tasted.” Colin unwrapped the small meal and presented it like a magnificent banquet. Laura let a small smile creep across her face. “What do you want with it? Come on. You can have anything.” He rubbed his hands together with a grin. Merlin chewed on his lower lip. “Ham? Cheese?”

“Strawberries,” Laura responded. 

“Strawberries it is,” Colin laughed and cupped his hands. 

Merlin could feel his heartbeat racing. They had practiced the spell in the dream world for nearly two weeks. But Colin had never quite been able to master it. Merlin had no clue why it wasn’t working for him. He had the pronunciation correct. And there was never a consistent problem. Sometimes it was a purple strawberry, other times it was a brilliant red raspberry.

“ _ Blostma, _ ” Colin whispered into his palms. Merlin felt the slight surge of magic and held his breath. He couldn’t tell from Colin’s expression whether it had worked or not. Then Colin opened his hands and Merlin’s heartbeat stuttered.

“That’s not a strawberry,” Laura said as she saw what the actor held.

Colin grinned sheepishly. “Er, it’s the right colour?” She smiled back as he decided to tuck it into her hair. Merlin relaxed. After a breath, they continued on with the scene.

“Why are you so good to me?” It was a good thing improv seemed to come naturally to some actors. Merlin refrained from meeting the eye of anyone in the crew until the scene was over, trying to think up a lie for why there was a flower instead of a strawberry in Colin’s hands. Actually, he wondered what Colin thought of the flower suddenly appearing in his hands. He had no clue how he could pretend that was a slight of the hand when the actor was not given an actual prop. Maybe he should just avoid the Irishman until he forgot about the incident. 

No wonder so many people caught onto him having magic; he was terrible at hiding the little things that he did without thinking after so many centuries of living.

The scene ended and the director immediately congratulated Colin and Merlin on the last minute switch. They exchanged glances, Colin clearly knew it wasn’t planned, but he played it off and said it was a last minute idea he had last night and thought it would play better if they kept it a secret since obviously Merlin had expected to actually make a strawberry. He apologized to Laura for not telling her, but she agreed that she thought it worked better this way, certainly more flustered surprise. The director quickly watched it back and said he was happy with how it turned out so they could move on to the next scene. 

Merlin hurried off set before someone could confront him about the obvious magic. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have finished and ready to publish. What this means is a short break might be coming in posting. I'll try to finish the incomplete chapters for next week, but I would rather make sure they are good chapters before I post them. That said, reviews really do help motivate me to keep working on the story now that 007 Fest is over.


	10. The Sorcerer's Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin watches an episode of "Merlin" and reminisces on his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bits in italics are from the episode script.

Merlin sat at home in his modest London flat. He never had much of a need for large homes, but he did own an old estate home out in the country. He visited occasionally, but he got better TV signal in the city. 

And as tonight was Saturday night, he needed his good signal. 

He had a few weeks until filming resumed for the beginning of series four, so he was able to take a mini holiday at home. But any holiday plans were put on hold to join the rest of Britain in watching  _ Merlin _ each Saturday night. 

It would sound more awkward if he didn't know how much hard work everyone put into the show. 

He also enjoyed watching the final version to see how all the later effects were added and which scenes were taken out. He flipped to the correct channel and returned to his kitchen to finish preparing some tea and crisps. Tonight was a raspberry tea evening with Jaffa cakes. 

The sound of John Hurt's deep voice calling his name brought him scurrying back to the living room. This week's episode was “The Sorcerer's Shadow.” There hadn’t been many effects for Merlin's team so he hadn't seen most of this episode. Some in the dailies and a bit in the gag reel at the wrap party. 

He had enjoyed reading the first draft of this episode. It reminded him of some of his more stubborn students. It was the early fourteenth century when he formally set up a school on the Isle of Orkney; he had just been a wandering mentor before. But inspired by the early universities in England, he thought it best to have a permanent base of learning. 

He didn't teach just magic there either. Sword fighting was taught as well as maths, astronomy, writing, and history. If it wasn't so secret, it might have rivalled many other famous magic schools of note. But he was selective in his admission process, and the greater magical community had not yet been able to break his spells. 

 

***

_ Merlin: The way you fought earlier, that was incredible.  _

_ Gilli: Yeah?  _

_ Merlin: For someone your size to be able to beat a man like that. I'm sure a lot of people are going to think you're using magic. I'm not going to tell anyone. _

 

Merlin couldn't help but face palm as he heard that line. He had thought for sure it would be polished up after the first draft. It was about the least subtle thing he could have said. Walls are thin and anyone could have heard that conversation. You don't talk like that when your very existence is illegal. 

Merlin remembered having to rescue many such people that had not yet realised how corrupt Camelot was during Uther's reign. With a kingdom seemingly heading for bankruptcy, most people didn't hesitate to try to collect rewards for exposing sorcerers. He got very good at creating illusions in an instant. A few early mistakes taught him that the Knights were far less likely to hunt down someone they believed they saw die. 

He had nearly gotten thrown in the dungeons multiple times, but he learned fast. 

 

***

 

_ Merlin: You need to learn to use your magic for good! That is its true purpose! It's not meant for your own vanity!  _

_ Gilli: I'm not going to apologise for who I am! You can be a servant and, and pretend you're less than them, but I'm not going to....  _

_ Merlin: No, that's not what I do!  _

_ Gilli: No? You're defending the King! Protecting a man that would have you dead!  _

_ Merlin: I'm protecting you!  _

_ Gilli: You've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are.  _

_ Merlin: That's not true. _

 

Merlin's heart faltered as he saw his own thoughts reflected on Colin's face. He wanted to deny that he never forgot who he was, but in the early years that wasn't quite true. Before his magic was common knowledge, he sometimes hid so well that he forgot. It was usually the Druids who reminded him when he was out in the woods hunting for herbs. He had many friends there who would lend an ear and scold him when he was being daft. They reminded him that he had many people who had vowed to serve him and he could call on them whenever. Even if it was just to sit and meditate or listen to stories of their lives. It was always a source of peace in his chaotic life. Those hours taking respite in a druid camp were treasured memories.

It was his dragons who saw him through the worst years. The Black Plague wiped out so many with magic, and Merlin felt them all. After realising his magic could do nothing against the disease, in some cases it made it worse, he fled to the crystal cave and refused to leave. Aithusa scolded him and proceeded to take advantage of the situation. She tricked him into leaving the cave to help hatch a new egg and transport them both off of the continent. Years later, Merlin realised he would never have managed that trip without the boost of magic the deaths from the plague gave him. Aithusa naturally denied any such machinations. 

 

***

 

_ Gaius: Gilli is using magic for his own gain. It's corrupting him, poisoning him. _

_ Merlin: Just let me talk to him. _

_ Gaius: I fear it's too late. _

_ Merlin: Gaius, please. You taught me what magic was for. You gave me the opportunity to be the person that I am today. I've had you to help me. Give me one more chance to talk to him. _

 

Merlin liked the character of Gaius in the show. He would have benefitted greatly from a similar mentor. It was the librarian he had originally been apprenticed to. Sir William had been his surrogate father, but he had no magic himself. 

But what Merlin learned from him, was that no librarian would ever burn a book. Despite the highly illegal nature of the texts, Merlin has easy access to a room full of magical books to study from. 

He was further able to communicate with magicians abroad using hidden messages in the inquires William would send out. 

Merlin still learned a great deal from the court physician though. Once he started accompanying the Knights on their excursions on a regular basis, he realised he needed more than a basic book knowledge of healing. There was only so long he could continue healing with magic and hoping that the physician wouldn't find him out. 

The books he had studied had taught him some herbs beyond what he learned growing up in the countryside, but many special uses or tricks could only be learned by hand. He slowly grew to enjoy working with the physician more. It was another way to help people, and one that was not in danger of getting him executed. A little extra rain here or there would go unnoticed, but as the show pointed out, healing a person with only a poultice to show proved disastrous. 

 

***

 

As the episode drew to a close, Merlin couldn't help but reflect on other kings and princes that he had tutored. His Arthur never had to face battling his father; Uther was much weaker in his old age. But other young princes who were more strong headed needed someone to knock some sense into them. 

Merlin preferred teaching through fables and dreams, but sometimes he needed to interfere with his magic. There was a young king in France that he frequently needed to take down a few notches to see that not everyone was out to kill him. But soon afterwards, the age of nobility drew to a close. No one believed in magic anymore and no one needed his advising skills. 

He missed it sometimes, the feeling of shaping the world through others. Maybe it was a little bit of his manipulative side shining through, but what could he say? He had thought he would’ve done well as a Slytherin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I just took a short break to do battle with this chapter, but sadly I am here to tell you that this story will be on another hiatus. I am starting grad school and so I expect to be busy. I will write when I can, but the next chapter will be posted on September 26th. As always, your reviews give me a boost of motivation and I love hearing your ideas for the story. I wish you all a good school year if you are still taking classes.


	11. Unlocking the Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Colin's mind is finally free and he meets Merlin in the real world.

It was a couple weeks into filming series four when Colin found a note left on his pillow.

_ I figured out the key. Sleep tight. _

_ -M _

He looked at it in confusion but decided it was probably part of a prank. He blamed Katie. Just in case she had any plans for sneaking in tonight, Colin slid the deadlock shut in addition to the normal lock. But he put the note out of his mind and it was forgotten by the time his eyes closed.

 

Merlin’s spirit was waiting impatiently for the Irishman to fall asleep. As soon as he did, the warlock lept into his dream. He had to steady himself as the dream world finished forming beneath his feet. 

“Wow, you are eager tonight,” a wry voice commented from behind him. Merlin spun to see Colin staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m guessing the cryptic note was from you?”

“It wasn’t that cryptic,” Merlin protested.

“It is if I can’t remember that I am taking secret magic lessons from Merlin in my dreams once I awake in the morning.”

“Fair point. But,” a large grin spread across Merlin’s face, “that is exactly what I figured out.”

Colin stared at him in astonishment. “You mean I’ll be able to remember all of the lessons we’ve had so far?” Merlin nodded. “And any future ones?” Another nod. “And will I...?” he trailed off, hesitant to voice his hopes.

“You will be able to use magic in daily life, yes,” Merlin confirmed.

The normally reserved man launched into a wild dance of joy, spinning in circles and laughing. When he calmed down slightly, Merlin sat him down on the grass and explained the process while pulling various crystals out of thin air. He set them in a pattern to enhance memory and connection with self and some other things. Truthfully, Merlin was still guessing at the use of the crystals, but he was trusting his instincts on that. It felt odd to be doing such a powerful spell in a dream world and he honestly wasn’t too sure what might happen. As a backup plan, he instructed Colin to take a few days to let his brain sort itself out and try some simple spells while awake before coming to find him.

“How will I find you? For all I know, you could be in Australia.”

Merlin smirked. “I’m a lot closer than that.” He held up a hand to stop Colin from asking further questions and began the long incantation.

 

Colin sat up with a start, immediately clutching his head in pain. He couldn’t figure out why it would hurt so much. He remembered having a strange dream. Then, a thought occurred to him and he held out his hand. “ _ Forebærnan _ .” A small flame blossomed in his palm.

 

***

 

Over the next couple days, he tried more spells in his trailer and practiced reaching his magic in his downtime on set. It was exhilarating yet exhausting. A few people noticed his lowered energy levels, but he dodged their questions. He wanted to speak with Merlin first before he started telling people he had magic. He had yet to find the warlock though. Maybe on Friday he would take a walk into town and try to look for him there. But right now he needed to be down on set.

He arrived on set for the filming of the banquet scene in the third episode. The spinning wheel had not been ready during the initial filming of this scene, so they were backtracking a little. It was common that the more difficult practical effects happened after most of the episode had already been filmed in a series of pick ups. 

He could see the effects team was in the process of tying Bradley to the wheel as he arrived, so he walked over. 

“Comfortable there, Bradley?” he asked. 

“Feelin’ ready to rock and roll!” he grinned in return.

“Alright, none of these feel too tight?” Matthew asked as he checked the last knot. “Let me give you a slow spin then to check.” With a barely concealed grin, he spun the actor around once, then again, before stopping himself from getting the actor too dizzy.

“Well I don’t feel sick yet, but let’s see how I feel after the scene is done. Try not to screw up too much, Colin.”

“No promises.” He smiled at his friend and then walked to his mark. He wasn’t strictly needed yet, but it was easier to do reaction shots when he had already seen what he was supposed to be reacting to.

“Wonderful,” Matthew suddenly said from next to Colin. “I can already tell this will be a fan favourite scene.” 

He smiled. “It’s going to be one of my favourite ones to watch,” he replied as the actor who would actually spin Bradley gave it a test spin before the cameras started. 

“I wish the real Prince Arthur had been put on something like this. I would have never stopped spinning him.” 

“How do you know...” he trailed off as he looked back over at Matthew and the synapses in his brain started to fire and break past the remaining mental barrier. His eyes grew wide in realization. “You’re Merlin?” he asked in a sharp whisper. 

The warlock grinned. “The one and only.”

Colin’s brain couldn’t seem to decide what question he wanted to ask first. Just as he chose and took a breath, the director called for all quiet on the set. His lips pressed together unhappily.

_ We can speak mentally, _ Merlin’s voice sounded in his head.  _ Less likely to be reprimanded for not paying attention too. _

_ Show off. _ Colin scowled at him, but turned back to watch the action unfolding. The trickler jammed the apple in Arthur’s mouth and he couldn’t help but smile at Bradley’s expression of surprise and confusion.  _ You work on the set of a TV show about your own life? _

Merlin chuckled mentally.  _ Wouldn’t you? _

_No._ _I can’t even imagine how weird it is for you._

They watched Bradley get spun on the wheel; one of Merlin’s effects people was keeping it spinning at a constant rate.

_ So much of my life has been fictionalised that sometimes I can’t believe I lived through it. Or I have a hard time separating fact from really good fiction. In the end it is just a good story. _

The trickler showed off his knives to the appreciative crowd.

_ So you have been here on set the whole time? _

_ Since series one. _

_ How many of the effects are magic? _

_ Not as many as series one.  _ He paused to watch Tim stick the knives into the slots in the wheel.  _ I’ve become more familiar with the filmmaking process so I have picked up some more tricks to use instead of magic. No one questioned it except you. Your subconscious must have been trying to call me on my lies.  _

Bradley grinned over at Colin when the knife was stuck into the apple.  _ The dragon prank was magic wasn’t it? _

_ I had so much fun with that!  _ Colin didn’t need to look over to know that Merlin was smiling.

_ So the dragons bowed because you were a dragonlord then?  _

Merlin snapped his head to Colin. “What?” he whispered, forgetting about telepathy.  _ They bowed to me? _

_ Pretty much anytime you passed by. I’m surprised no one picked up on that.  _

_ Huh. _ Together they watched the crew film a couple takes of the wheel spinning to a halt with the knife stuck into the apple. 

It was going to be Colin’s shot in a few moments so he regretfully excused himself to clear his mind and prepare for his scene. It would be harder than usual this time; he still had so many questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who came back to this story. Next update should be in two weeks, October 10th. See you then.  
> (Remember, comment and ideas help get chapter 14 written!)


	12. On Winds of Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they are back in the dreamscape learning spells and Colin does his first scripted spell alone.

“We have met in real life now,” Colin asked. “Why do we have to keep meeting in my dreams? It feels weirder now that I can remember them in the morning.”

They were back in the countryside of Ireland, but Merlin was constructing a cave system in one of the nearby mountains while Colin watched. Merlin hadn’t yet explained why the mountain in the dream was suddenly in need of a tunnel, but he knew better than to get a straight answer from the warlock when he was concentrating. 

“Because it takes far more energy to create a real tunnel system.” His voice was slightly strained and he didn’t tear his eyes away from the landscape. 

“Okay, maybe this time it makes sense,” Colin returned. “But what about the other times? You could have told me you put an enchantment over my eyes so that no one can see the glow in the real world. No need to go to sleep for that.”

Merlin lowered his arms. “Okay, perhaps it is not strictly necessary, but I am actually busy during the day, as are you. This just makes sense. We are both sleeping in actuality. And tonight,” he snapped his fingers to move them to the entrance of the tunnel, “we are going to be practicing more magic. Not something we want to do in the real world yet. You are still stronger when your conscious brain is out of the way.”

“Still doesn’t make sense,” Colin muttered as he walked past Merlin into the cave. “So what spell do you need me to learn?”

“A spell to produce a gust of wind.” Merlin directed Colin to stop in the large underground cavern. “You will need it in episode four. To make it easier to learn, let me...” he trailed off and pulled something from his pocket. 

It seemed to be a pinch of a fine powder. He brought his palm up to his mouth and blew. The powder flew out and multiplied to fill the room with a shimmering blue haze. The powder was hanging in the air and Colin could see it shifting gently. 

“Totally harmless if you breath it in, so no worries. Although this is still the dream world, one can’t be too careful. But, it should help you see your spells. Like this.” He whispered a word and pointed a finger. Colin watched as the blue haze was blasted back to form a thin tube of clear air where the burst of air from Merlin had blown through. A wave of the wizard’s hand reset the haze. 

“You’ll remember in the script there is a chamber filling with gas and you clear it out to make it through safely.”

“How does Julius make it through?” Colin asked. “The script didn’t really say.”

Merlin thought about that for a moment. “Medieval gas mask?” Colin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I have no clue. I don’t think the writers wanted you to pick up on that. And of course it’s not what we will be focusing on either. We,” he made a gesture and words appeared in the air, “are going to focus on these spells.”

 

***

 

After a week of intense magical study, the scene was going to be filmed in a nearby cave in half an hour. Merlin’s team had already been here for three hours, sealing off other tunnels that would suck the gas from the chamber too soon. He had told his team that a box he placed by the far tunnel would suck the gas out of the main chamber at the flick of a switch. The second unit director was worried it wouldn’t achieve the right effect, but Merlin convinced them to wait and see. Between his skills and Colin’s acting (and both of their magic) it would look like Colin had magically conjured up a wind. 

“So how is this going to work?” Colin asked as he approached Merlin. The warlock looked at his watch.

“I didn’t expect you for another ten minutes.”

“I finished lunch early,” he responded. “This is the first time I’ve done the scripted magic myself.”

“You won’t be entirely alone,” Merlin reassured him. “You start by incanting the spell and I’ll lend you some of my magic, helping the spell work perfectly. You focus on the acting, let me focus on the magic.”

Colin nodded. “I can do that.” Merlin patted his shoulder and they parted ways. 

When the cameras were rolling, Merlin watched on in pride at Colin’s acting. He was really starting to look very impressive as he strode through the caves. Since the actor was naturally picturing what he wanted the magic to do and was focusing the energy accordingly, the draw on Merlin’s magic was actually lessened. The smoke billowed back the way it came and was sucked into the walls of the cave.

Satisfied with the take, they moved on to the confrontation scene. It was with a quiet power that Colin chose to intimidate this week’s antagonist. It wasn’t the type of power seen often on television these days. Most programmes feature the knights of the world: the ones with big muscles who seemed to be constantly losing their shirts.

Yet this scene showcased Merlin on the ground, seemingly defeated and at risk of losing the dragon egg. It is from the ground that he declares his lineage and proves that once again good will triumph over evil.

For if there was one thing Merlin had seen proved over and over again, it was the fairytale adage that the good side always wins. It did not always seem like it. The Goddess knew that many days Merlin felt like he had lost. Camlaan. The London Blitz. The Great Famine. 

However hindsight showed him that these events were unavoidable turning points in history. And out of these events came a people much stronger for the hardship. Like a sword, the people of Albion have been forged in fire and hardened into the perfect weapon against darkness. And Merlin could only feel honoured to witness the transformation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the next chapter in two weeks on October 24th.


	13. On Seeing the Obvious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which discussion is held on the obliviousness of others and we take a short trip to the past.

The floor was glowing. Properly glowing. And it lit up exactly when Santiago walked over the sigil. It was clearly magic. Colin couldn’t believe no one questioned it. Hiding in plain sight indeed. He used to think that the writers had made Arthur especially dense. Katie had even shown all of them the oblivious Arthur meme.

But apparently the real world worked the same way. In the break between scenes, the actor walked up to the warlock. “What lie did you tell this time?” Merlin couldn’t help but feel a little stab of pain at the actor’s dry tone.

“I’d prefer to think of it as a cover story rather than a lie,” he defended. Colin raised an eyebrow. “I told them it was a special paint that emits light when a current passes through it.”

“And if someone else tries that and it doesn’t work?”

“Then I tell them it only works with a specific amount of energy; they must not have had the correct settings.”

Colin had to concede that it was a believable excuse. “I still can’t believe no one questions any of this.”

Merlin smiled. “Humans have a remarkable ability to trick their mind into believing what fits in their worldview. And since most of the population doesn’t believe in magic, well, you can get away with a lot. Especially magic like this. Let’s be honest; it’s not what most people would expect me to use magic for.”

“What about in Camelot?” Colin asked. “Were people just as oblivious there, or less so because they still believed in magic?”

Merlin sighed and slumped back against the wall a bit more. “There it was complicated. It really depended on the person. Of course there were still the truly oblivious. They wouldn’t recognise magic if it was levitating a donkey in front of their nose. They were nearly on par with the  _ enlightened _ scientists of the Renaissance who firmly believed anything could be explained with science. But in Camelot, most people would notice magic that was not well hidden. 

“Some would ignore it, believing it was harmless nature spirits or other natural causes. Others believed it to be intervention by their god. A few people knew what it was and kept mum to avoid casting suspicion of sorcery on themselves or their friends. It was those who acknowledged it that gave us trouble. 

“Those individuals tried to call out any use of perceived magic in the hopes of receiving a reward for catching a sorcerer. We developed ways of identifying those people as a warning to others with magic. It was a very stupid wizard who did magic around those people.”

“So, you,” Colin joked.

“Well, yes, but hush,” he grinned back. “I had to protect the king.”

“And how oblivious was Arthur, really?”

“Not as oblivious as this show portrays him to be. Remember, the purge really was a dark time in history. Arthur had been trained to identify magic and eradicate the source. Uther was not above using magic-made tools to detect magic and it took a lot of careful preparation to render those useless. Fortunately, many of those tools were not very precise. It would signify that magic was nearby, but it couldn’t tell you what it was. And enough things still had residual traces of magic from the construction of the palace and the spells built into the stonework. I got away with a lot by using that as an excuse.” He let out a breath of laughter. “I remember one time,” he cut himself off. Colin looked at him in confusion. “How about I show you in a dream tonight?”

 

***

 

“I can’t do this anymore,” Merlin exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Sir William looked over at his apprentice with a raised brow. 

“What can’t you do?”

“Hiding all of these books in my chambers.” He began pacing between the bookshelves in the library. “I don’t know if the prince noticed yet, but that wretched stone was brighter this time. I can’t keep explaining it away with residual magic of the castle stones. My shields just can’t contain the auras.”

“What if you moved the books to somewhere the guards would never search?” he suggested.

“Where? I would think the library would be best, but clearly the prince will lead them in here to search.”

“I was thinking somewhere he doesn’t know exists. Somewhere underground.” The warlock grinned when he caught the man’s drift.

“I’ll go ask him,” he said as he lept to his feet and ran out of the room.

 

Kilgharrah thought it was an excellent idea and immediately helped the warlock sculpt a room out of the stone to store his books of magic and even taught him a portal spell to access the books from his room in the main library. As the seasons passed, this magical hideaway grew to a miniature cave network with a library, an office, a dining room, and even some beds for visitors or escaping prisoners. 

 

***

 

“That’s brilliant!” Colin exclaimed as the montage of visitors faded away to show them standing in front of a grand fireplace in a large hall. Colin looked around in confusion. “Where are we?”

“This is my dreamscape,” Merlin responded as he sat on the bench before the hearth. “I’m glad you liked my secret room. It was really very useful once I started becoming a respected figure in the magical community. It was almost like holding office hours.”

“That would solve so many problems in the show. Why did nobody think of writing that?”

“Probably because in the show, Kilgharrah is a manipulative and cranky lizard who is far too bitter to willingly help you?”

Colin smiled. “There is that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to NaNoWriMo you probably will not get another chapter until December. But in the meantime, I thrive off of comments!


	14. Bonus Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin struggles to come up with an idea for a DVD bonus feature and so watches previous ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won NaNoWriMo again this year!!  
> And miraculously had motivation to finish this chapter right afterwards. So without further ado....

Merlin checked his email and groaned. It was time to start thinking about DVD extras. And suddenly they wanted his department to feature this season. He didn’t know how it would work. All the really cool stuff involved magic in one way or another and he couldn’t exactly let that secret be widely known. 

But he had not actually watched any of the other DVD bonus features. Maybe he would be able to make it work. Perhaps he didn’t have to explain everything, but just talk about the theory and not show the magic he used to actually make it work. Or maybe he could show the finished result and explain whatever excuse he had given to the team. He pulled the previous series off his shelf and settled down to watch.

 

It didn’t take long for the warlock to begin laughing. He couldn’t help himself; he pulled out his phone.

 

M: ‘Merlin’s Magic Tricks’?

C: What?

M: Series one bonus feature

C: Oh no.

M: Oh yes. Whose idea was that?

C: We don’t talk about that. It was not one of my best ideas.

M: So it was your idea! 

C: Angel was the one who brought it up with the producers. 

M: Sure blame Angel for that hilarious segment.

C: Shut up. Wait, why are you watching that?

M: No reason.

C: They asked your department do make something this year, didn’t they?

M: Maybe

C: And you are stuck bc it is all magic

M: Not all of it! But yeah. I thought watching the other bonus features might help. 

C: Have fun.

 

Merlin sighed and resumed watching the bonus features. There were some snippets from the CGI department talking about creating the magical creatures in post and a couple tours of the sets and of Pierrefonds. It was another featurette involving Colin that had him laughing again. Watching the two actors attempt a road trip across Wales to discover  _ The Real Merlin and Arthur _ through some very strange means. Once again, he pulled out his phone. 

 

M: How did you manage to keep a straight face while walking around with those sticks?

C: I should have known you would find that one too. It was hard. The editors did a good job. Even without knowing who you really are it was hard to believe all of it.

M: I’ll admit not all of it was wrong.

C: Really? What’s true?

M: Some of the battlegrounds were real battlegrounds, but none of them were where Camlaan was located. That was actually in France. Most of it is underwater now.

C: Didn’t expect that. What about the ley lines? Surely that can’t be true.

M: No. There are some places that do have stronger magic but no relation to what that man was referring to

C: What about the possible burial grounds of Arthur? I’m guessing you didn’t bury him in France

 

Merlin hesitated, not knowing what to tell him. He kept that location very secret. He did not even tell Guinevere, although he thought she figured out the most important part. At first it was out of a selfish need to have something for just him to be with Arthur, untainted by passing years and fleeting mortals. Then, as more rumors spread about ways to resurrect the King and make him serve nefarious purposes, it became a matter of security. And although he liked technology, he still did not think it safe to ever say or type the location.

 

C: Sorry that was rude. You don’t have to answer. Forget I asked.

M: No worries. Perfectly valid question except that it is a secret that I have never divulged for fear of the consequences. His public funeral was held in the castle courtyard.

C: Which castle was originally Camelot?

M: Richmond

C: The one in Yorkshire?

M: Yeah

C: I hadn’t thought it would be that far North

M: Says the boy from Belfast

C: True. Is it sad seeing it in ruins now?

M: It only looks like it is in ruins

C: What? I’ve visited and its mostly grass

M: That’s the beauty of magic, it allows me to preserve the castle without it being questioned. Now that you have the gift, you will have to come visit again. See what it really looks like. Meet some of the others living there.

C: People live there?

M: Most of them only stay a short time. It’s like a research library for magic. Of course there are places to stay on the grounds and some people rent places nearby.

C: Do you live there?

M: Not always. It is a nice place in the summer though.

 

They talked a little more about what life was like at the castle now and how the two worlds managed to coexist without issues. But then Colin had to go and Merlin had to seriously think about the featurette he was in charge of again. At least he had some ideas now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals start this week so look for the next chapter on December 19th. And thank you all for being patient during November.


	15. On the Importance of Networking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they discover someone else with magic.

Merlin walked out after his first team meeting of the fifth series. They would have a lot of work to do on the first few episodes. Thankfully, most of the methods they had already developed and Merlin already knew what excuses to give when needed. They knew how to throw weapons by magic and how to remotely light or grow fires. They were excellent at producing haze and at creating swarms of bugs. They hadn’t dropped any chandeliers yet, but Merlin was looking forward to that. 

On his way to the props department, he passed by Colin going through scenes with one of the newer actors for this series. “I liked your bonus feature,” Colin called out.

“Still not as great as yours,” Merlin called back with a smile. 

“Who is that?” the other actor asked Colin when Merlin had passed. “Is he another actor?”

“No, that’s Matthew,” Colin said, remembering to use the right name. “He heads up the practical effects department.”

“Huh. He seems familiar for some reason.”

 

“Ow.”

“Focus.”

“I’m trying. Ow.”

“Try harder.”

“How can I deflect - ow - the balls when you want want me to keep talking at the same time? I can’t say the incantation then.”

“Take it up with the script writers,” Merlin replied, picking up another dodgeball. “It’s their fault you don’t get to say the incantation aloud.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s your fault since the character is based on you,” Colin returned. He was at least glad that they were doing this in a dream so that he wouldn’t feel sore in the morning. But he didn’t actually believe Merlin’s excuse for why he needed training like this. Surely the warlock had enough skill to both throw and deflect a bench without words. This was just an excuse to throw things at him. The warlock told him the incantation was  _ contege _ but wasn’t letting him say it outloud. 

He wasn’t sure that doing wordless magic was possible for anyone except the grinning warlock in front of him. At least, if the show was to be believed. Although in the show others had done silent magic. How had they done it? 

Then he remembered that at one point someone mentioned incanting the spell in their mind. Maybe he should try that? He gave his tired arm a shake and held it out again, focusing hard on the magic word.

“Much better!” Merlin cried in excitement. The dodgeball still made it past his outstretched arm, but it’s path had been deflected. “What did you do differently this time?”

“I focused on the incantation in my mind.”

Merlin cocked his head to the side. “You weren’t doing that before?” Colin shook his head. “No wonder it wasn’t working then. I have never met anyone else who could do wordless magic without at least partially focusing on the incantation.”

“Really? No one else?” Colin asked, lowering his arm now that Merlin had stopped throwing balls at him. “How would you know though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well unless you were reading their mind while they did the magic then I don't understand how you would know.”

Merlin took a second to process that. “I guess I hadn't thought of it that way before. I only know that all my life people have been amazed that I don't think the spells in my mind. I can think of a few off the top of my head that may have been able to do the same.”

“Mordred?” Colin asked. 

“Not necessarily. He wasn't as skilled. His strength was in gaining people’s trust. He didn't need to have great magic. Morgan and Nimue perhaps.”

“Although speaking of Mordred,” Colin said. “Have you met Alex before?”

“Who?”

“Alex Vlahos. The actor who is playing Mordred now.”

“No I don't think so. Why do you ask?”

“He thought you looked familiar.”

Merlin brushed it off, saying he looked like many people. And he had done lots of travelling so it was not a big deal. Colin let him talk and magic away all the dodge balls before he added what else he knew. “Did you know he lived near Richmond for a year?” Merlin looked up and met his eyes. “I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to that than he was letting on.”

“It’s certainly possible, if incredibly unlikely.”

“It was  _ unlikely  _ that the actual Merlin would be working on a show about his life,” Colin retorted, his arms folded across his chest. “It’s also unlikely that the actor playing Merlin would have magic. Yet here we are.”

The warlock couldn’t help but laugh and conceded his point, before moving on to more wordless magic practice.

 

Over the next week, Merlin kept his senses open whenever he was around the young actor. However, if he had magic, he wasn’t using it. He was about to give up when he felt a spark of energy near the training field. He looked up from where he was enjoying lunch on the low stone wall. Not far away he could see some of the boys training with their swords. Since it was the lunch break they weren’t practicing specific drills, but were just having mock fights. They had a bracket on the back of the board that they kept up all year. 

With a mindless charm to enhance his hearing, he could pick out Eoin’s voice apologizing to Alex for something. Probably not being careful enough. Alex reassured him that no harm was done. Others chimed in and began teasing the older man about how he wasn’t nearly as good as he said if he couldn't even hold onto his sword.

Merlin smiled. He knew what trick Alex had used. It was one of the spells he knew was taught in the self-defense classes offered at Richmond. Now he just has to talk to the man. That shouldn't be too hard. 

 

Turns out it was harder than expected. The week only got busier as Merlin and his crew figured out the logistics of dropping the chandelier on the table, creating triggers to release shields from the wall, and mapping out the storeroom to determine where they could light fires without harming either the actors or the camera equipment. Colin had actually asked him when they were going to train again and Merlin had no answer for him; he had been collapsing in bed every night, utterly exhausted. 

Finally, in a break between scenes while the props department repainted the centre of the round table, Colin led Alex over to where Merlin was leaning next to the window. 

“You look exhausted, Matthew,” Colin greeted.

“Not all of us spend our mornings in the makeup chair,” he returned.

Colin let out a small laugh. “Alex wanted to meet you and I said I would introduce him. Alex, Matthew. Matthew, Alex. Cheers.” With a smile, he left to steal the seat next to Bradley and see what was so interesting on his computer. 

With a roll of his eyes, Merlin invited Alex to walk toward the far corner of the room with him, further away from curious ears. “So you wanted to talk to me. What about?”

“I had thought I knew you from somewhere, but it didn’t seem likely. Colin pressured me into talking to you though. I don’t really know why he thinks it is so important.”

“That boy is a bit strange, I’ll agree,” Merlin said with a smile as he leaned against the back wall of the throne room. “But sometimes he has good intuition. Where do you think you know me from?”

“You look like one of the tour guides at Richmond Castle,” Alex said slowly. “But that only made sense if you worked as a guide here, but you don’t so it seems like a very strange career change.”

“Not as different as you might think. Besides, you’re an actor, you know that sometimes you have to pick up odd gigs between projects.”

“So it was you that I saw there?” 

“Well now, I didn’t say that exactly. I have worked there in the past, but you may have also seen someone who looked like me. When did you study there?”

“2009 but I was there with my parents sometimes when I was young,” he responded before he actually processed what had been asked. “How did you know I studied there?”

“Because that move you used on the training field last week is something everyone learns at Richmond.”

Alex narrowed his eyes and dropped his voice. “Did you study there too?” Merlin shook his head. “Then how do you---?”

“I have taught there though,” he interrupted. “Many years ago, but I still sometimes help out in the summer when there are more tourists.”

“And do you have, you know?”

“I do.” 

Merlin would have liked to talk more, but the table was evidently finished and they needed Alex for something else not in the Great Hall. They agreed to meet in Merlin’s hotel room that evening and talk more then. Even if they both would be very tired.

 

Merlin ended up driving Colin back to the hotel and they found Alex already waiting in the hallway, looking over a script for an upcoming episode. He looked up as they greeted him and Merlin ran his keycard through the slot, letting them into the room. “Were you at Richmond too?” Alex asked in amazement once he realised Colin would be a part of this conversation. 

“No. I've only visited once. I didn't know I had magic until I started filming in series one.” 

Merlin gestured for them to take a seat on the small sofa while he sat on the end of the bed. “So what drew you to the show?” Alex asked Merlin. 

Colin and Merlin exchanged glances. “It's a show about a pretty great wizard, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.” Colin rolled his eyes. “And I hadn't worked on a set in a while. I needed a change so I thought it would be a fun way to stretch my magic.”

“You use magic a lot then?” Alex asked. 

“Yeah, It’s a pretty big part of me, and I’ll be honest,” Merlin said with a smile. “A lot of the practical effects are so much easier if you just use magic to do what magic does in the show.”

Alex was amazed at the idea of someone using their magic so frequently among other people. He asked many questions about what Merlin used his magic for. Colin ended up adding more questions as he realised he didn’t know much about the older man’s life off set. Merlin was mostly happy to be talking about magic with someone else that was not a druid or someone who saw him as their professor.

But soon the conversation began to dwindle as they grew more tired. It was Alex who broke the silence with a small giggle before clamping his hand over his mouth. 

“What?” Merlin asked. 

“Of the Round Table, the two people with magic are being played by two people with magic. You can't help but laugh at how absurd and unlikely that is. Does Katie have magic too?”

Colin looked at Merlin. “No. Not unless she has never used it, but I didn't feel a spark.”

“You can feel if someone has magic?” Alex asked. 

“Why did you need all those crystals then?” Colin added. 

“I can only feel the magic in a person if they use magic often. Otherwise it's too buried. Like a scented candle that has never been unwrapped. As for how I can do that, that's a longer story and should be saved for a day when we are all more awake.”

The other two yawned as they nodded in agreement. They stood up to leave and Alex thanked them both for letting him in on their secret.

“Speaking off, I should probably tell the other three now,” Colin realised. “Now that another person knows.”

“Possibly,” Merlin agreed. “But do it when you are ready for it. Right now, I think we are all ready for sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you for commenting. You may expect the next chapter January 2nd. 2017!


	16. Ties of Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which more people are let in on the secret.

Merlin was standing patiently in the hallway of the hotel, eyes focused somewhere between his nose and the closed door in front of him. He was letting his mind wander where it felt like and relax after a long day of work.

Okay. That was a lie. 

Merlin was hard-pressed to remember the last time he felt this anxious. He rubbed his hands over his face before extending his senses to hear the conversation behind the door.

“No, I mean proper magic,” Colin was saying. “Not just card tricks. Here.” Merlin felt a little spark of magic as the Irishman spoke the word to create a flame in the palm of his hand. Merlin heard the amazement of his friends. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about their opposite experiences in telling friends about their magic. Merlin would never wish the fear he experienced upon anyone else. Yet it was nearly as disheartening that so few people believed in magic anymore. On his more bleak days he wondered how he and Arthur would ever reunite an Albion that had lost that belief. An Albion that believed the Round Table was nothing more than a legend. 

“Matthew?” Colin’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. He had poked his head out of the door with a gentle smile. “You’re still sure about this?”

Merlin nodded and pushed himself off of the wall.”I have a feeling we will be friends for a while so this is best for all of us.” He followed the younger man into the hotel room to see the beds pushed together. Colin returned to his spot between Katie and Bradley while Angel scooted over to make room for Merlin.

“Hey Matthew,” Katie greeted. “I should’ve guessed you had something to do with this.”

“How so?” he asked. 

“You and Col have been spending more and more time together for the last couple years. I knew you were up to something. I just didn’t expect this.”

Merlin shrugged good naturedly. “How much have you told them, Colin?”

“He said that you had been training him in using magic,” Bradley answered.

“I left the best part for you to tell,” Colin finished.

“Oh thanks,” Merlin snarked back. He looked around the circle. All of them sitting cross-legged reminded him of sitting around a campfire with the druids; he tried to draw strength from that mental image. “Well there is not really a gentle way to break it to you, but my name is not really Matthew.” He took a deep breath. “It’s Merlin.”

There was silence around the circle. 

“As in the immortal wizard Col is playing right now?” Bradley did not sound like he believed it. 

“Warlock,” Merlin corrected automatically. “But yes.”

They took another minute to process. Colin gave him an encouraging smile. 

“Why are you here?” Angel asked. “You could be anywhere in the world and you decided to come work on a show called Merlin. A fictionalized show about your life.”

“I wasn’t doing anything else. Thought it would be fun.”

“And has it been?” Katie asked. 

“It’s been incredibly fun!” Merlin grinned. “Why do you think I’m still here after all? Besides, I haven’t had a pupil in years and Colin’s a quick study.”

“That’s because you cheat and use dreams,” Colin retorted, trying to be modest. 

“Nonsense. You have the drive to learn and really understand what you are learning. Believe me when I say that is rare.”

“How weird is it to be working on a show about your life?” Bradley asked to take the focus off his flustered friend. Not that he wouldn’t tease him about it later. “How much is accurate?”

“A lot of the basic premise is true. I was younger than Arthur, and Uther was indeed a tyrant, more so than you can show in a family show, but that is real life for you. I did actually know my father growing up, but I only saw him on the very rare occasions when Mother and I visited him. They wanted me to have as normal of a childhood as possible and that’s hard when your father is off adventuring on the back of a dragon.” He chuckled at their faces. 

“You didn’t tell me that!” Colin exclaimed. 

“You’ll find there are many things I have yet to tell you, young padawan.”

Katie snorted while Colin flung a pillow at him. They laughed harder as Merlin sent it flying back at Colin with his magic. 

They spent another two hours talking and laughing at the stories Colin and Merlin could now share with the rest of them. Later, as Merlin lay on his own bed, he thanked the Goddess for leading him to this show and this group of friends. He knew their ties of friendship would last far beyond the run of the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, I have not even started the next chapter yet. I'm not sure what will happen. Hopefully I can write it in two weeks, but I don't want to make promises. Are there any last things you would like to see before I wrap this up? Let me know by leaving a comment.


	17. A Spy is a Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn more about the disguises Merlin has taken on in his life and have a conversation in the woods.

Merlin wasn’t technically needed in location today. He actually needed to be back in France in a couple hours to help with second unit filming of some scenes with Katie. Luckily, he was a pro at teleportation. That allowed him to watch the filming of this scene.

And what a scene it was. The writers had seen that the fans enjoyed Colin’s cranky old man acting and decided to step it up a notch. And why not? The kid had a gift for acting. So now they got to enjoy watching Colin as a cranky old woman. Merlin was glad he was sitting back far enough to laugh without the mics picking him up. Bradley was managing alright, but poor Alex was having a terrible time not laughing.

Merlin did not envy the editing department that would have to cut around all of the smiles and strained faces. The crew called a short break and Alex collapsed on the ground. Merlin reached out telepathically.

_ How is the not laughing going? _

_ Terrible. I don’t know how Colin can do it. _

_ He is not watching himself do it. _

_ True. Have you ever, I mean I’m sure you’ve had to use many disguises.... _

_ Are you asking whether or not I’ve had to disguise myself as a woman? Yes I have. I don’t remember when the first time was. It happened surprisingly often. Especially in my early years, it was easy since women were so often overlooked by men in society. But I spent a few years as a woman in the late 17th century. I was on a secret mission. _

 

***

 

“My brother said you were good at disguises, but even I am impressed, Lord—”

“Please, remember to call me Maria,” Merlin interrupted the princess before she could speak the name she had known him by. “Remember that here, I am not the spymaster of the English crown sneaking around in a foreign kingdom. I am merely one of your ladies-in-waiting, Henrietta. We wouldn’t want your husband to become jealous if he found us whispering together.”

She laughed lightly. “If the rumours are true, he might be more likely to claim you for his own if you were not in disguise. Yet, he seems to be staying true. He is very sweet.”

“I’m glad of it. Your family would not want you to be unhappy here. The letters have already started arriving and your father demands to know how you are settling in.”

“You must tell him I am well. It may not feel like home yet,” she replied, standing to look out the window of The Tuileries Palace. “But still, it is lovely and it grows on you. There is such a lovely garden here. Would you like to join me on a walk?”

“Perhaps another time Henrietta,” Merlin replied. “I have to finish setting up my work space. But I can send a servant to ask for your husband to join you.”

Leaving her chambers, Merlin strode through the hallways to her own room. 

“Are you new here, Madame?” a voice asked. Merlin halted in her steps, her full skirts swishing as she turned. “I do not recognise you.”

“Good day, your highness.” Merlin executed a perfect curtsey for the Prince. “I am a friend of your wife’s. From England, sire.”

“What is your name?” he asked, hands still clasped behind his back.

“I am called Maria, your highness.”

“I do not remember a Maria on the guest list for the wedding.”

Shoot. Merlin had not known the Prince had such a good memory. And here he picked Maria because he thought it was a common name. Easy to forget. “I had been ill,” she lied. “The physician ordered me not to leave my chambers for a fortnight. I have only now been well enough to make the journey.”

“I see.” The Prince took a small step backwards. 

“Oh, it is not contagious,” she hastened to reassure him. “I am nearly back to perfect health now. Nothing to worry about, your highness.”

“Even so. I am sure you are exhausted by your travels. I shall not keep you any longer.” He nodded in farewell.

“Yes, sire.” Merlin curtseyed again, waiting for the prince to turn so that she didn’t turn her back on him. Apparently that was rude. Except, oh. “Your highness?” The Prince halted. Though his back was turned, Merlin knew he wasn’t terribly pleased. “Princess Henrietta wishes to see you. She is in her chambers.” 

He didn’t reply, but the prince did take the next turn to lead him to her chambers.

Merlin sighed. He had really forgotten how exhausting all this protocol was. But a spy is a spy and a spy tries their best not to stick out. That was the whole reason Merlin was acting as Maria. She squared her shoulders and strode down the hallway, heels clicking on the polished floors. It wasn’t too long before she reached her rooms. Thankfully this door was warded with magic so that only she could open it. No protocol nonsense here.

Merlin pressed her hand against the door and, oh, it didn't open. Darn transfiguration charms. Maria’s handprint is not the same as Merlin’s. A small trickle of her magic unlocked it and she made a note to change the key. But for now, she had reports to write and deliver back to England. Thankfully, Merlin had plenty of practice being a spy. 

 

***

 

It had been a while since Merlin was employed as the spymaster for the crown. He wondered if it would be easier or more complicated with texting. Certainly it was far easier now for Colin to contact him despite the English channel between them. As they were still in different countries a few weeks later, they met in the dreamscape. This time Colin’s mind had placed them in an old forest. The actor was sitting on a low log, a small fire burning before him. 

Merlin could tell he had been mulling over something for a while. It was an expression he saw often in the mirror. He took a seat on an adjacent log. “What's on your mind?”

Colin said nothing for a moment, just stared into the flames. “You've read all the scripts, right?” Merlin said that he had. “The episode with the Disir. Merlin, well the character, not you, obviously, he tells Arthur that magic is evil. Just on the chance that it would mean Mordred would die.” He fell silent again, but Merlin said nothing. “I guess I wanted to know if you had ever faced a decision like that. I guess I do not understand how it was a difficult choice. Surely if magic became accepted in Camelot, it would be easier to protect Arthur. And Mordred was still a good knight at this point in the story.” He looked up at Merlin. “How was that the right choice to make?”

Merlin didn’t know what to say. Despite his long life, there was only one Camelot. Only one time when Arthur had been king and the decision might have been before him. But he had never known for sure that Mordred would be their downfall. He hadn’t known who Mordred’s mother was until nearly a decade later. He had stopped trusting the man in the end, but he thought the knight would be one of those problems that they faced, defeated, and moved on from. 

So there was no comforting story he could tell Colin this time. No story to explain the state of mind one would be in while making this choice. He knew which choice he would make now, he thought it would probably be the same choice a younger him would have made, but he supposed in the heat of the moment, or with some other context, he might choose differently. But as it stood now, it seemed a simple choice. 

“I don’t know what to tell you,” the old warlock finally replied, eyes flicking up to meet Colin’s before returning to the flames. “I feel the same. And it certainly seems as if leading Arthur towards accepting magic would have led to the Golden Age.” He took a deep breath and stood. “In all my infinite wisdom,” that got a small smile out of the actor. “I can only tell you to talk to the script writers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, three weeks since the last update.  
> I cannot say for sure when the next chapter will be posted. My aim is before the end of February. That gives my five weeks, but for you I shall aim for no more than three. But with uni I cannot make any promises. And I really want to make it a good final chapter.


	18. Farewell, Not Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Merlin reflects on his journey.

It was hard watching Colin scream as he imagined the pain of losing your magic and losing all hope of having it restored. Merlin instead focused on containing the fake rocks in the net above. It had taken a lot of testing to determine the right material to use so that is was light enough to hold in the nets, but heavy enough not to bounce when they fell.

He was struck with the realisation that he was going to miss his team. They never doubted when he declared that they would be able to accomplish yet another magical feat. And sometimes Karen surprised him by proving that some clever science could do what he thought he would have to use magic for. Those were always great meetings. He would have to remember to write all of them glowing recommendations. 

But that could come after the wrap party. He wanted to use his magic to do something for everyone. Obviously not everyone would know the truth, but he did really want to thank them all in some way for making such a wonderful show about his life. Perhaps he could give them all a small good luck charm in the goodie bags. But that could be lost. 

Maybe something more obviously magical that he signed with his real name. Those in the know would know it was from the heart, and those who didn’t would think it was just an anonymous message from someone involved who wanted to say thanks in a fun way. Either way, he only had another month to plan something out.

 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t devote too much time to his plan; the last few weeks were an absolute whirlwind. Merlin was consistently out in the woods, using his magic to stir up leaves, erase hoofprints, or pretending to use science to create lightning for pick up shots. On top of that, Colin and Alex were constantly asking for more magic lessons before their paths diverged. Really he couldn’t say no.

So he taught them both how to hide the telltale shine of gold. He taught them spells to alter clothing. He taught them to warm themselves up on a cold day. And he taught them card tricks just because, no actual magic involved.

Even as they jokingly complained that he tricked them, he reminded them that they had his number and they knew where to find him. He planned on returning to teaching for the next couple decades. Maybe at a proper university as well. Of course Colin suggested that maybe he should consider teaching practical effects at a drama academy since he clearly was the best. They both knew that would go over as well as Merlin trying to make a living as a trapeze artist. Regardless, he would let them know what he decided and they would always be welcome to stop by.

 

The last day on set, he had nothing he needed to do. It was only a couple reshoots of knights running through the forest or galloping on horseback. But when the last scene was shot, he joined in the huge cheer that erupted from the crew and cast. There were hugs all around and high fives and plenty of pictures being taken on phones. The air was filled with reminders of what pubs would play host to their celebrations that night. He had beaten the others to booking the back room at The Rising Sun in London and knew that more than the small group of effects people were likely to show up. He knew for sure he heard Bradley and Eoin talking about crashing their party. 

Yet when the night arrived, the room was only effects people; maybe the party crashers would come later. They mingled for a little around the high tables and the booths on the edge before Merlin moved toward the front of the room and tapped his glass to get their attention.

“Before we all get too caught up in our drinking I just wanted to say a few words,” he began. “I signed up for this project thinking it might be a fun activity, something to pay the bills and keep me from going mad. I didn’t expect to be working with such a wonderful group of people as yourselves. You have taught me new tricks and new science. We have bonded over midnight Mythbusters marathons. We have panicked together when the deadlines loomed, yet together we made this show possible. The world may remember the names of the actors, and they do deserve the awards they will hopefully receive.” A cheer went up. “But our names may only be noticed by the few who hunt the IMDB webpage. So though our work may be pushed to the side, let us vow to never forget each other. Be a network of support and friendship. And together, let us go out and make some more magic.”

“To magic!” Karen called out as she lifted her glass.

“To magic!” the others joined in response. A fitting toast indeed. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN: And as Merlin says thank you to his team, I must say thank you to mine. First Requiem17 deserves so much praise for helping me edit this entire story and brainstorming with me. Thanks also go to Opalescentgold who looked over one chapter when I was panicking about a subplot.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, left kudos, and especially those of you who took the time to comment both in the past and those of you who find this story after it is marked as complete and still take the time to leave a review.**
> 
>  
> 
> **And of course, with the speech Merlin gave, it would be in poor taste to leave you without a link to the IMDB page where you can find the names of the gifted individuals who were actually able to accomplish what I had Merlin do with magic.[Full listing here](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1199099/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ql_1) **  
>  **and then scroll down to Series Special Effects.**

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a series of one shots that eventually tie together to be a complete story. This is a new style for me so constructive criticism is appreciated.  
> And although I have a good portion of the story planned out, I would love to hear any prompts or random ideas that suddenly strike you.


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